but the time of the year as well. We
visited Machu Picchu on December
1st, in the off-season, so some of the
horror stories about the crowds may
hold true at different times of the
year. We were able to walk around
the second world wonder that I had
been to on the trip in complete awe
and selective solitude. At 9:30am we
walked out of the residential area of
the site and gazed back up towards
the main entrance, realizing we had
beaten the masses. A long precession
of humans now lined every corner
and lookout. A sea of tourists had
broken the floodgates and had now
overflown into the park. We took our
leave with a sense of accomplishment
and were very grateful that we got to
experience the site on a more person-
al level than the hundreds of people
gathered above us. Our expectations
had been overwhelmingly exceeded.
Aiming so low and being rewarded
with such highs spiked our emotions
to a level of pure bliss.
We have now tried to settle into a
middle ground when we hear other
people’s opinions and reports about
areas or specific places. I strong-
ly urge you to do the same, enter
any environment with a new set of
eyes, a clean perspective, and let the
situation present itself as purely as
TRAVERSE 29
possible. Every traveller is different.
For some, a couple of ancient ruins
are enough for a lifetime, to others,
each one has their own unique allure
that can be appreciated on an indi-
vidual basis. Some people are drawn
to small or large cities, while nature
and mountains call out to the souls
of a different type of meandering
traveller.
Each experience is completely
different for each of the 7.5 billion
people in the world. Go out and see
the world for yourself, absorb all it
has to offer, and enter each building,
city, country, or continent with an
open mind and give it the chance to